Home Field Advantage
by fearlessgoddess2
Summary: On a hunt, Dean runs into some old friends.... One-shot.


**Home Field Advantage**

Dean took a long drink of his water, his eyes scanning the area around him, his subconscious scrutinizing every movement that could be a sign of an attack. He returned his canteen to his pack before continuing on.

Sam was gone. That meant two very bad things: Sam could be dead, and Dean had no backup. Obviously, the first was exceedingly more horrible a concept than the second, but the second was still bothering Dean, if only because he could find Sam better with backup.

The two had been on the trail of what they'd known were some kind of trolls for two days when they'd been attacked. And attacked was definitely the right word for it. Dean had a deep-seated hatred of fire ever since that night when he was so young, but on a practical level it just sucked to go up against. Fireproof blankets were the best thing to have, and Dean knew that if he and Sam hadn't had them, they'd both probably be dead.

Pukwudgies were a real pain in the ass. He'd gone up against them with his dad a while back, when he was maybe nineteen, and his dad had only let Dean come along because they weren't sure how much longer the kidnapped victims would be alive. Also, they were so far into it that the only real hope they had of getting out was defeating the enemy first. The enemy in that case were three-foot, butt-ugly trolls that moved like shadows and liked to shoot fire-tipped arrows. The arrows were usually tiny things that were pretty easy to remove, unless of course they had come out the other side of an arm or a leg, so it was the fire that caused the most problems.

Having been attacked by three of the little monsters, Dean had woken to a pounding, slashing headache, an aching body, and no Sam. Presumably the things had decided to take Sam off with them and then come back for Dean, assuming that he wouldn't go anywhere or wouldn't get very far if he tried. Although they were gruesome creatures and got really pissed really fast, and knew how to take their anger out with some heavy temper tantrums with their abnormal strength, Dean knew that pukwudgies weren't exactly the smartest of creatures. So Dean used what he had, following the trail, hoping that he could keep the element of surprise when he finally tracked them down.

"Home field advantage," Dean mumbled to himself absently. "That's the downside of hunting, huh, Sammy? We never get home field advantage."

Dean glanced to his watch with a scowl, knowing that if he didn't get to Sam before dark it would be even more difficult, but he wasn't willing to stop. Plus there was always the chance that if he were attacked again, and now that he knew exactly what he was going up against, he'd be able to take them down. He snorted at the unusually optimistic thought.

At the crunch of some leaves that hadn't been by his own feet, Dean froze, sliding his eyes around. He pursed his lips tightly, slipping his Desert Eagle out of his jacket, sporting wrought-iron rounds, as his eyes scanned the perimeter. There was no more movement for another full thirty seconds and Dean's feet itched to keep going, though his gut told him that there was something watching him.

There was only the slightest bit of irregular movement to his right that alerted Dean where the danger was before the _thwip_ sounded of an arrow flying through the air. Dean jerked to his right, behind a tree, and let his pack drop to the ground, snatching up the fireproof blanket and tucking it over his shoulders and letting it fall down over his back like a cape. He allowed himself a brief smirk at the ridiculous concept before he raised his gun, darting out from behind the tree and searching for his target.

Dean's aim adjusted as he occasionally heard a slight sound or saw movement, but he wasn't confident enough to let off a shot. Knowing that he was facing multiple opponents, Dean did his best to keep his back to a tree, also keeping an eye on his backpack, as he continued to search for a target to take out.

Suddenly, there was a dash of movement to Dean's left as something emerged and a _thwip _sounded, causing him to jerk himself out of the way of a flaming arrow, but as soon as he'd done so, Dean let off three shots. There was a shriek of pain from one of the trolls, but as soon as a bit of triumph flared in his chest it was torn down by a sharp pain in his right calf and he stumbled.

"Son of a bitch," he hissed, staggering to lean against a tree as he yanked the arrow out and painfully hit at his jeans until the flames died out. Dean's breath came harshly as he kept his gun aimed in the direction the shot had come from, his eyes narrowed furiously. Glancing to his leg and testing the muscle, he let out a grunt of annoyance before pushing past the minor muscle damage and started slowly toward the area his target was hiding.

Seemingly from nowhere, a sharp shout came, "Get down!" Never one to ignore an order, especially from the mouth of a female, Dean dropped to the ground, an instant before two shots rang out and a cry of pain echoed through the forest and faded. Also never one to assume an ally, when he heard quick footsteps approaching behind him Dean whirled on his presumed savior, raising his gun, his eyes suspiciously narrowed.

The defensive stance instantly fell as Dean eyes on the newcomers. "You gotta be shittin' me," he breathed.

The young woman stared at him in just as much disbelief. "Dean?" she exclaimed.

"Ah—." Dean's voice caught in his throat as his eyes went to the two young men coming up behind her. He grimaced at her as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. "How come you had to go and remember my name?"

As the young men took posts surveying the area for any more assailants, the woman's face fell into a smirk at Dean, moving to his side. "It's Hailey. That's Tommy and that's Ben. Don't think I'd forget the name of the guy who saved my brother's life." Her eyes narrowed. "Or one of them, at least. Where's Sam?"

Dean stiffened, pushing himself to his feet. "He got snatched. You just took out a third of the opposition. As long as you're packing wrought iron?" Hailey nodded in confirmation. "Awesome. I took out another third. The last one's out there somewhere." Dean shook his head in incredulity. "When the Hell did you get into this game?"

"Long story," Hailey replied. She motioned to his leg. "First things first. Tie that off." Dean nodded in agreement as he limped over to his pack.

Doing some mental calculations, Dean figured it had been about four years since he'd seen the three siblings, and he knew a whole lot could happen in four years. He still didn't like depending on three kids he last saw as helpless civilians for backup though, so he didn't let his guard drop an inch as he wrapped gauze around his calf.

"You're packing the right stuff," Dean spoke as he shoved the blanket back into his pack and lifted his pack up onto his shoulders, "so you know what we're after."

"Troll," Hailey said. "From the flaming arrows, I'd assume pukwudgie?"

"Geshundteit," Dean responded. She glared at him and he smiled. "Yeah, they're pukwudgies." He let his eyes flicker over the three, all sporting guns, and all sporting the hunter demeanor.

Dean had seen it many times before, be it in the Roadhouse or on hunts where he'd run into other hunters. Hell, Dean had seen it when he looked in the mirror every day. It was something that you couldn't erase, couldn't escape. A force that took hold of you, that made you hate the evil in the world, and need to do something to it, something violent, destroy it, kill it, for anything to ever be okay again. Somehow getting their brother back from the monster that had taken him hadn't been the end of it for these kids.

"Eyes peeled, ears open," Dean said with a stiff nod, continuing on the path he'd been following before he'd been ambushed.

The three kids, as Dean couldn't help but think of them, definitely had some practice under their belt. They'd unquestionably had some kind of mentor or they wouldn't have made it this far into the job. Dean absently wondered who had been the one to show them into the world of monsters. He wondered how their minds had been melded over the years to the evil out killing humanity in the shadows on a regular basis. And what kind of hunters they'd become.

It was another half hour before they came upon the small entrance to a cave. Dean narrowed his eyes, sliding his gaze over the area they were in, doing a full three-sixty before looking back to it. "We should use the numbers to our advantage since we don't know if it's out there or in here," he said, motioning to the mouth of the cave. He looked to Hailey, knowing that she was the oldest. "Which one of you's the best shot?"

"Me," Hailey responded without hesitation.

"Who's quietest?"

"Ben."

Dean nodded sharply. "All right. You stay here with Tommy. I'll take Ben in with me to get Sam."

"Sounds good," Hailey replied.

Dean took out a flashlight, though he didn't turn it on, and double-checked the extra rounds in his pocket before heading into the cave, having to crouch slightly, Ben right on his heels. Admittedly the kid was damn near silent as he followed on Dean's six into the cave. Dean let his eyes try to adjust to the lack of light for as long as he could, which really wasn't that long, and finally had to turn his flashlight on. He lit the area, following the most worn path, and it wasn't long until he spotted several bodies. Most could easily be judged as dead, all but one, whose wrists and ankles were bound tightly to two stakes in the ground.

Dean's heart stuttered at the sight. "Sam," he barked, darting to his brother's side. He checked that Sam's pulse was steady, though his breathing was a bit shallower than he would have liked. He flicked out a switchblade and cut the rope binding Sam as his eyes opened and blinked at him slowly. "Sammy, talk to me. You hurt?" Dean asked.

"Dean…" Sam rasped tiredly. "…get some water?"

Grabbing the canteen from his backpack, Dean lifted it to Sam's lips, letting him drink. He glanced to Ben, who he was glad to see was standing with his back to the two of them, gun out and at the ready. "You'll never guess who I ran into," Dean spoke.

Sam's eyebrows came together as he looked over to Ben, blinking a few times, before they widened in surprise. "Whoa," he muttered.

"Yeah. Whoa. You good?" he asked, doing a sweep of his brother but coming up empty for any serious injuries.

"Ah…bruised ribs, some holes, some burns…" Sam muttered. "I think I'm good to walk, though."

"All right then. Come on, Sasquatch, we're outta here," Dean said, sliding his arm under his brother and lifting him up to his feet.

Dean's face twitched slightly in recognition of the sound of a gun going off several times, but he didn't pause. Ben visibly tensed at the noise, taking point as they walked briskly toward the exit of the cave, or as briskly as they could with Dean toting half of Sam's weight. Dean blinked a few times in adjustment to the change in amount of light, but it wasn't much of a difference inside the cave and out, which made him appreciate all the more that they'd gotten Sam and gotten out.

"Guys, you okay?" Ben asked worriedly, going quickly over to his sister, who was leaning against a tree.

"I caught one in the arm," she told him tensely, motioning to her wound and the protruding arrow, the fire having gone out, "but I'm good."

Ben gnashed his teeth in a grimace as Tommy examined the wound, meeting his sister's eyes briefly, and she nodded, closing her eyes tightly. She let out a grunt of pain as he braced himself against her arm and jerked the arrow out smoothly. "Sit down, let's get that wrapped up," Tommy muttered.

Hailey nodded in agreement and lowered herself to a sitting position as she looked over to Sam. "Is he okay?" she asked, meeting Dean's gaze.

"Yeah, a little worse for the wear, but he's fine," Dean replied. "I want to patch him up real quick, then we'll take off."

Hailey nodded, motioning to her arm. "Give me a minute and I'll be good to go."

00000

Dean opened and passed Hailey a beer as he sat down next to her on the motel room bed. She gave him a grateful smile as she downed a long swig. "So. I never thought I'd be seeing you guys knee deep in trolls," Dean spoke, moving his gaze around the siblings.

Tommy's gaze tightened and he swallowed hard, pausing for a long moment. "Hailey told me everything that happened up 'til you guys showing up in that cave," he said quietly. "I ah…I never got the chance to thank you, by the way." Dean nodded once in response. "After being in that situation…for all that time…listening to that thing tear into my friends…." He let out a rough sigh. "I don't know. I needed to know more. So I did the research. Started with a Google search of 'wendigo' and just…kept going. For a few days. Then a few weeks." He paused.

"Then Tommy wanted to head out to meet some woman he'd spoken to on the phone," Hailey continued for him. "By this point Ben and I both knew what kind of research he'd been doing, and we'd helped for some of it. I guess I thought it was sort of like therapy for him, learning about how to protect himself from this sort of thing," she said as she gazed at her brother, then shifting her eyes to the beer bottle in her hands. "But really…it was more than that. And not just for him."

Dean nodded slowly. "Who was the woman?"

Hailey glanced up to him, barely veiled grief in her eyes. "Her name was Olivia Lowry."

Dean closed his eyes briefly and looked down to his hands for a moment. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

"You knew her?" she whispered.

"No, but ah…we worked on figuring out what happened to her, what happened to the others," Sam said quietly.

Hailey's eyes widened. "Do you know?"

Sam blinked in surprise, briefly meeting Dean's gaze before turning back to her. "You were never told?"

"Something about…well, everything that's happening," Hailey said tightly. "I know that my brothers and I picked a Hell of a time to become hunters. We'd just recently gotten really into the job, started going on hunts, when the Gate opened." Sam tensed unconsciously. "Relax, Sam, we know you guys were there. I'm sure you tried to stop it, so just forget about it. But…Olivia," she whispered intensely. "What…what happened to her?"

Sam swallowed hard, averting his gaze.

"It was called the rising of the witnesses," Dean told her. "Spirits came back, supercharged, and went after the hunters that failed to save them."

Hailey stared at Dean in shock for a long moment, then looked away. "Thank you," she finally whispered.

Dean nodded. He knew how much just having information could mean to someone. "So she taught you guys?"

"Yeah," Hailey muttered. "She took a few months off and just…trained us. She knew, all the hunters knew, that there was something coming. Something big. She knew our side was going to need all the help it could get."

"I hear that," Dean mumbled.

Hailey paused. "Well thanks for the beer, but we should get going, actually," she murmured. "We've got a motel room not far and I'm eager to get some sleep."

"Alright, let's swap numbers though," Dean told her, taking out his cell. "Just in case."

Nodding in agreement, each of the hunters took out their cell phone and punched in several new contacts. "It was good to see you again, guys," Hailey said with a slight smile. "Take care of yourselves."

"You too," Sam responded.

The three hunters left, closing the door behind them, and Dean sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm gonna shower," he muttered.

"Hey Dean?" Sam asked.

"Hm?"

He paused. "You think…you think it'll ever get to the point where…everyone knows?" Sam murmured. "Where civilians just—."

"No," Dean snapped quietly. Sam slid his eyes to his brother, heavy with worry. "No, Sammy, it won't happen." At that, Dean grabbed his duffle and went into the bathroom, closing the door rather harshly behind himself.

**THE END**


End file.
